THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS Review

I liked Sausage Party. I feel like I should say that up front because I don't want to seem like I'm easily offended or that I can't take a dirty joke when I say that The Happytime Murders is a pile of shit. Also, while I haven't seen Peter Jackson's 1989 comedy/musical/parody Meet the Feebles which in and of itself seems to have been exactly what The Happytime Murders purports to be, I have seen Team America: World Police and after now having seen Brian Henson's (son of Jim and a director in his own right having made The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island) twist on what it might be like if the puppets he grew up with grew up with him I feel rather confident in saying that I don't need another example of how funny it can be when bedrocks of childhood suddenly come to possess the most adult of behaviors with the crudest of takes on those behaviors. I say this because 1) Team America accomplished as much in balancing tone, humor, substance, and conveying it all through these objects not typically intended to be taken seriously with the sly genius of it hidden in the fact it actually had something to say and 2) because The Happytime Murders is rarely if ever actually funny. And I mean that not in the way that there are a few chuckles to be had here and there throughout the slim ninety-minute runtime, but rather that I didn't laugh once the entire time. The most pleasure to come out of sitting through this one-note joke of a "movie" is the small, sporadic flourishes of creativity that comes in adapting these puppets who know they're puppets into the real world and the humorous ways in which Henson, his team, and screenwriter Todd Berger integrate them. That said, there are maybe two moments in which the creativity of such integrations are funny enough to garner a smirk, but beyond this The Happytime Murders functions as an uninteresting whodunit that doesn't attempt to add weight to its narrative or not-so-subtle allegory dealing in prejudice and discrimination as it hangs its hat solely on the joke of kid toys being dirty-except it isn't a funny joke.

GHOSTBUSTERS Review

I'd like to think there's not as much ignorance in the world as the internet tells me there is, but the small corner of the World Wide Web known as IMDb and more specifically the user reviews for 2016's reboot of Ghostbusters would suggest everything I've hoped to be true about this world is in fact wrong. Given the film has been out in wide release for less than 24 hours at the time of this writing it's astonishing how many harsh and outlandish tirades have been hurled at this film. Of course, we're not here to discuss the inability of what are likely now forty year-old men to share in the wealth of their childhoods, childhoods that provided such pleasures at the original 1984 film, and extend those same feelings of excitement and pure joy to the kids of today and moreover the young girls and women of today who have undoubtedly always looked to the portrayal of their gender in Hollywood and wondered why they were always so restrained. As far as I'm concerned and as far as I can tell (I was born in 1987 so I don't exactly "get" the hoopla that surrounds the original) despite how much the original Ghostbusters was a huge success and universally praised at the time of its release I've never understood the level of infatuation with it. Sure, it's a perfectly enjoyable comedy with a charismatic cast and unique premise, but in the thirty plus years since its release I can't help but think the film has lost some of its charm otherwise I wouldn't feel as out of the loop. With this new, all-female version director Paul Feig has both paid homage to the original film while creating a world and characters all his own. Written by Feig with the help of The Heat screenwriter Kate Dippold this new Ghostbusters universe doesn't capitalize wholly on the gimmick of the gender swap, but more it uses this basis of an idea to explore a familiar world from a new perspective. While no matter how good the film might have turned out to be there would undoubtedly still be people decrying the fact it exists at all, but that it is a lot of fun if not necessarily an exceptional comedy will surely only anger them more. To remain focused on those who take away from the unadulterated fun that Ghostbusters can provide though is to be reminded of the disappointment this world can be whereas to simply take the new Ghostbusters on its own terms can make you believe good does in fact exist among us. In short, it's a delight.

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE Review

When I see that Rawson Marshall Thurber is directing a movie and more specifically, a comedy, I feel I know what to expect. That may sound like something of a criticism, but when what you're expecting is a large scale comedy with broad appeal and a surplus of solid laughs expecting something specific isn't necessarily a bad thing. And so, with the release of his latest, the director of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and We're the Millers has indeed stayed on track with what we've come to expect from him proving he has a formula and by sticking to it he will continue to produce fun if not forgettable comedies that have strong replay value and serve as a launching pad for on the edge talent or, in this case, interesting duos. It is the combination of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart in this particular situation that elevates Central Intelligence from being more than a serviceable comedy to something of a fuller comedic experience than it might have been in lesser hands. With the standard secret agent premise meaning very little, which is something of a disappointment considering We're the Millers was a stellar comedic idea and not to mention the fact Ike Barinholtz was a contributor on the screenplay, the movie sometimes is overly reliant on the chemistry of its two marquee stars, but it never feels as if the film buckles under the strain of these two guys having to pull stuff out of their asses because the story isn't strong enough to hold up, but more the chemistry between the two leads, the dynamic they create, and the downright hysterical and restrained characters they have crafted for themselves so overpowers the weaker narrative that Johnson and Hart more or less render the plot unnecessary. I mean, of course it is necessary considering we need a beginning, a middle, and an end with a source of conflict to drive our characters to a climactic point in which they might both conquer their personal and professional fears and come out all the better for it in the end, but that is to be expected. What can be hit or miss is just how fun the journey can be made to this familiar destination and with the confident comedy hand of Thurber guiding them, the dynamite chemistry blowing up in every scene, and The Rock absolutely giving it his all Central Intelligence easily becomes one of those comedies that will be looked back on fondly as the best kind of comfort food.

THE BOSS Review

Melissa McCarthy is more or less unstoppable. She is a movie star unlike anyone else at the moment and in a few years will likely look back on 2015-2016 as her prime years of output thus the reason we are not only being treated to another McCarthy/Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat, SPY) collaboration this year in the Ghostbusters reboot, but also have the second offering from McCarthy and her producing/directing/writing husband, Ben Falcone, in The Boss. Taken simply as a follow-up to their last directorial effort, 2014's Tammy, this is a huge leap forward in terms of quality. It was a strange transition of sorts as Tammy was the first project where McCarthy used her much-earned name above the title to pull some strings and make a project that would seemingly be close to her heart. This could only signal that the comedy and story would be something that was carefully cultivated by the husband/wife team and would certainly come across with more of an edge and better developed characters than most comedies these days, right? One would think so, but for all the optimism I held for Tammy McCarthy and Falcone let me down in the toughest of ways in that not only did it not make me laugh, but the entire affair felt pointless. And so, when I caught wind that McCarthy and Falcone would get the opportunity to make another movie off of Tammy's $100 million worldwide haul on a $20 million budget I didn't expect much. Maybe it was those tempered expectations that led to the more enjoyable experience I had with The Boss, but I have to believe the overall improvements in every aspect had more to do with this than grim assumptions. There is real structure to the story, actual punch lines to (most) of the jokes, and character development that felt due more to the storytelling than the improvisational skills of the actors. In short, The Boss feels like an actual movie. It may feel like a picturesque romantic comedy in its aesthetic with raunchy male anatomy jokes thrown in for good measure, but an actual movie nonetheless.

First Trailer for GHOSTBUSTERS Starring Melissa McCarthy

Much has been made of director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy) taking on a new installment in the Ghostbusters series when, for a long time, it was thought there might be a chance of a third installment featuring the original cast. When Harold Ramis passed over two years ago now though, the script for the third film was said to be getting a re-write, but eventually director Ivan Reitman left the project and a slew of directors were offered the job afterward, but nothing came to fruition until Feig got involved with the idea of doing more of a reboot than a sequel, but this time with an all female cast. While not much is known or has been seen of the film sans a few images and the posters included below, I've been interested to see what direction the gifted comedic director would take this franchise given he'd stated prior to filming that he wanted to make this scarier than the originals, but in turn hired one of the dreamiest comedic casts imaginable. Melissa McCarthy was a natural choice given she's headlined each of Feig's films since their 2011 breakout, but it was also nice to see him reunite with Kristen Wiig and bring her back to the kind of big, mainstream comedies she seems to have been avoiding while the additions of current SNL highlights Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones only upped the anticipation even more. These always felt like both wise and rather bold choices and given what we see in this first trailer it seems those choices might pay off big time. At this point I have complete trust in Feig as a director of comedy and can't wait to see what he's done with this property moving forward. Also starring Chris Hemsworth, Andy Garcia, Michael Kenneth Williams, Matt Walsh, and Cecily Strong, Ghostbusters opens on July 15th, 2016.

First Trailer for THE BOSS Starring Melissa McCarthy

Apparently Melissa McCarthy and her husband, Ben Falcone, wanted to follow-up their multi-award winning Tammy with another outlandish character study that was also intended to be named after the main character, which would have been Michelle Darnell in this case, but given the less than glowing reception, but still bankable success of the film ($100 million worldwide on a $20m budget) it seems Universal took a note out of Warner Bros. misstep and allowed the husband/wife writing/directing team to have free reign over their material as long as they had final say on the title which has now been re-branded The Boss. After the fantastic work that McCarthy turns out with director Paul Fieg it is always somewhat disappointing to see her return to lesser material and even more disappointing that this lesser material comes from her own mind with what one would imagine would be her best collaborator. Instead, Tammy is by far her worst film as the headlining star and this first trailer for The Boss doesn't give me much hope that this follow-up will be much better. The premise is pretty solid and the supporting cast is nice (so was Tammy's), but the trailer essentially gives away the entire film only eliciting a few chuckles along the way. It's probably too optimistic to think McCarthy and Falcone crafted a script and character that provided some kind of social commentary on tyrannical leaders with too much money that would come out in a timely fashion, but hey! I guess we'll see. The Boss also stars Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Kathy Bates, Kristen Schaal, Timothy Simons, Margo Martindale, Cecily Strong and opens on April 8, 2016.

SPY Review

Ladies and gentleman, Melissa McCarthy has brought us her version of Austin Powers and while it more or less diverts the James Bond tropes through a slew of supporting characters this is very much a breaking the mold kind of movie that not only puts a woman in the lead where a man typically reigns supreme, but a woman that looks like McCarthy who, per usual, recognizes where she fits into the Holywood lexicon and more or less takes a big ole dump on those expectations. Being unwilling to yield to anyone's pre-determined set of guidelines for what it takes to be an actress, a comedian or now, an action star, has made McCarthy one of the hottest properties around and with Spy she delivers a kind of definitive comedy that will seemingly launch her into the stratosphere of commanding her own franchise. Much like Mike Myers in 1997 McCarthy has used the same popular and well-known template of the spy thriller to lampoon any and all of the typical beats that Ian Fleming's most famous spy and his many imitators have acted out over the years. Opening with the more dashing version of Bond in Jude Law's Bradley Fine as he infiltrates a high class party to commandeer a nuclear bomb that has somehow managed to end up in the wrong persons hands we are taken through the scenario as expected until Fine comes face to face with Tihomir Boyanov (Raad Rawi) and the first of those many expectations are turned on its head and given a certain freshness that not only makes an audience member excited to see what the film will do with each scenario to come, but keeps us consistently laughing as both the sight gags and the one-liners the film delivers are expertly set-up and executed so as to get the biggest pay off. Needless to say, both McCarthy and frequent collaborator Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) know what they're doing at this point and they use their assumed short-hand to create not only a solid, credible comedy in a world of sub-par and sloppily put-together comedies, but they so clearly know how to draw on the strengths of each cast members talent as well as the archetypes of the genre so that it all seems to effortlessly pull together to create a hugely funny and entertaining time.

First Trailer for Paul Feig's SPY

Director Paul Feig may currently be casting an all-female version of Ghostbusters, but before he gets around to promoting women in film to a greater extent with that re-imagining of the classic eighties property he will be pairing with Melissa McCarthy again for a rift on the spy genre that looks like nothing short of another massive hit. I have always enjoyed McCarthy's comedy, even in lackluster films like Identity Thief and the truly awful Tammy. Despite the projects themselves being close to unwatchable at times there is always an empathy McCarthy is able to pull from her characters besides the fact she is exceedingly talented at physical comedy and finding the perfect inflection for the perfect moment. When she teams with Feig we get to meet the likes of Megan in Bridesmaids and see the duo of McCarthy and Sandra Bullock in Heat, both of which worked to their advantage and proved to be breakout hits in the vein of largely female casts in broad comedies. While McCarthy will have a little more support from some heavy-hitting male leads here in the form of Jude Law and Jason Statham it will also be nice to see her back on screen and going head to head with Rose Byrne who she didn't get to share enough screen time with on Bridesmaids. While the overall tone of this trailer implies something similar to that of the Steve Carell Get Smart it is nice to know Feig and McCarthy won't be shying away from their R-ratings as 20th Century Fox has released both a green and red band trailer that you can check out below. SPY also stars Bobby Cannavale, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Peter Serafinowicz, Miranda Hart, Allison Janney, Morena Baccarin and opens on May 22nd.

ST. VINCENT Review

St. Vincent is formula, but it's damn affecting formula. As soon as we meet the titular curmudgeon followed by the set-up that requires him to watch over the new neighbor kid we know where things are going. This is a film though that epitomizes the saying, "it's not about where you're going, it's about how you get there." There is nothing new to find in the intentions of the story or even in the way it is executed. Everything you will take away from St. Vincent is because of the characters, their individual arcs and how it comes together to not necessarily paint a pretty picture, but a humbling one. We are in a day and age where this, in many ways, feels like the culmination of Bill Murray's master plan. He has so effortlessly (or it at least seems that way) become more of a figure, a myth than that of an actual being that we find real value in seeing him let loose as much as he does here. There have only been a few occasions over the last decade or so where the legendary actor and comic has allowed himself this much visibility and unlike 2012's odd Hyde Park on Hudson this sees him in a role that is able to be more widely appreciated. You will recognize the schtick Murray is playing because he's done it before, but that doesn't make it any less fun to watch or when his stage of life and career are taken into consideration, any less affecting. I say affecting again because despite the fact we know where the film is going and we know what it wants us to feel it is still able to achieve a genuine emotional reaction from the audience and for that alone, the film deserves credit. It is also to the films credit that it doesn't overstay its welcome and allows the actors to flourish in their roles bringing the intended ideas to the surface and moving the audience in just the right way to where we are fine with the manipulation it is pulling over on us. St. Vincent is a crowd-pleaser in the biggest and best sense of the word in that it is a film I realize could be taken as overly-sentimental or even hokey, but that I could watch over and over again and still find reasons to smile every time. Sometimes, you need a film like that and St. Vincent would make a wonderful default to turn to for, if nothing else, the showcase it allows Murray.

TAMMY Review

There was and seemingly remains something off about Tammy. Not just in the case of the titular character that Melissa McCarthy portrays, but in the nature of the film itself. After following up her breakout in Bridesmaids with successful runs in Identity Thief and The Heat along with a slew of smaller, supporting roles in major comedies and two stints on Saturday Night Live it became clear McCarthy was the real deal. Still, the idea she next chose to venture out on a low-budget road trip comedy directed by her husband Ben Falcone and was a project they wrote with one another seemed completely understandable. There was an intimacy to it that no doubt was unheard of in the mainstream crowd-pleasers she was taking part in before. McCarthy had earned her name above the title and so she was going to use that power to make something closer to her heart. This could only signal that the comedy and the execution of the story would be something that was cultivated by the husband/wife team and would certainly come across with more of an edge and better developed characters than most comedies these days, right? One would think so, but for all this pent-up optimism I held for Tammy she let me down in the toughest of ways in that not only did she not make me laugh or love her, but that there is essentially no reason for this movie to exist. That probably sounds a little more harsh than it should because it isn't the characters or even the situations that don't come up with anything it's just that they don't come up with anything new. I didn't really know what to expect from the film upon walking into the theater, but when it instantly became clear that this would be a film of self-discovery and redemption for a life without risk and full of regret through the format of a road trip comedy I was done. We've literally seen McCarthy go through this same evolution in the same way in the aforementioned Identity Thief so what was it that drove her and Falcone to make this movie over anything else? Likely a question we'll never get a satisfactory answer to, but nonetheless the point of Tammy was to capitalize on McCarthy's brand of humor and persona and while she is all over the place here she does no favors for herself or anyone around her as any laughs that came from the audience were more out of sympathy than anything else.

Teaser Trailer for TAMMY

I saw the teaser trailer for Melissa McCarthy's latest comedy before my screening of About Last Night a few days ago and had no previous knowledge of its production or what the story was about. The good news is that this teaser doesn't give much education on what that story is, but it lets us know the tone of the film and that it is going to let McCarthy do the type of comedy she does best and in what might be the most freeing form yet as far as features go. I say that due to the fact that McCarthy's own husband, Ben Falcone, is making his directorial debut with this feature. The story is said to revolve around a road trip taken between Tammy (McCarthy) and her foul-mouthed, alcoholic grandmother as played by Susan Sarandon after Tammy is fired from her job at a fast food restaurant (giving new light to what is screened in the teaser) and learning that her husband has been having an affair. Judging by the reaction of the audience in the theater people will be more than willing to throw down they're money to see McCarthy play out her physical comedy schtick in a prime summer slot that seems poised to do nothing more than further solidify her status as a comedic force. I have to wonder when audiences will get tired of McCarthy essentially playing the same character over and over as it seems Tammy could have been taken from any one of the characters the actress pulled out for her recent hosting duties on Saturday Night Live, but at the same time I can't help but laugh at her and as long as this is closer to The Heat than Identity Thief I think I'll be more than willing to take it in and accept it for what it's meant to be. Tammy also stars Allison Janney, Gary Cole, Mark Duplass, Toni Collette, Nat Faxon, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates and opens July 2nd.

THE HEAT Review

Much has been made of the fact it has taken this long to get a buddy cop film with two female leads made. There is certainly merit to this argument as The Heat is a ridiculously fun time at the movies even if the premise has been worn out for a good twenty years now. The plot is hardly what matters here as the real story is who's finally filled the roles of those two lead women and the chemistry between co-stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy is so strong it will surely convince anyone doubting the power of women at the box office. The film will no doubt be a hit as well as officially confirming McCarthy's status as a certifiable draw. She did well with the average (though some would say downright terrible) Identity Thief co-starring Jason Bateman who is a fine comic actor, but not necessarily a big box office draw on his own. Next to American sweetheart Sandra Bullock and under the direction of Bridesmaids helmer Paul Feig, it is almost a guarantee that if there were a chance for women to get their fair share of summer blockbusters then this would more than be the way to go. There is plenty to complain about when it comes to The Heat as it doesn't possess the effortless balance of comedy and heart that the directors previous, female-powered, film so easily conveyed. Instead, The Heat doesn't need or even try to be anything more than a raunchy, no holds-barred action comedy that is more that able to be held up against any number of buddy cop movies that feature two male leads. I've never taken issue with the idea of women getting the short end of the stick when it comes to having the responsibility of a big budget studio comedy or any other genre on their shoulders, but I'm also a white male which puts me in the most favored demographic and therefore I don't really have much room to speak. What I will say is that I had a consistently good time throughout this well-intentioned if not mean-spirited piece of fluff that isn't here to say anything new or break any ground, but simply to make us laugh and in that regard it succeeds with comedy to spare.    

THE HANGOVER PART III Review

If you know me personally then you know I have a big soft spot for comedy. I love it and I pretty well like everyone involved in the mainstream comedy game in Hollywood. I root for the underdogs the critics like to bash (I'm hoping The Internship is good, but feel the critical response will be worse than it is for this one) and I've felt I've especially had to stand up for The Hangover films since many, fans included, were disappointed in the carbon copy follow-up the second film turned out to be. I was, like most, a huge fan of the first film. I found it refreshingly funny and daring. It didn't care what anyone thought, it just wanted to be funny and that is what comedy is supposed to be. There should be no fear when putting what you think is funny on screen and that element I think is what saves the third and final part of this men behaving badly series. Director Todd Phillips and writing partner Craig Mazin (Identity Thief) listened to the audience reaction to Part II and appeased the crowds by saying, "okay, we'll do something different for the third one." Naturally, this was a smart move but as the first reactions have come in it seems people are upset that there is no trace of an actual hangover anywhere in the film and that instead of following the antics of these guys on a chase through a random city that has them putting together the pieces of the night before it has them exploring the truth about Alan's psyche and wanting to help him move on with his life. In some aspects it is a film completely devoted to character development and getting Zach Galifianakis' lovable goofball to a place where we as an audience feel content to leave him and the rest of the time it is almost a dramatic man hunt movie that has the wolfpack tracking down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). The Hangover Part III is certainly not what you would expect from the trilogy and compared to the others it is definitely the least funny, but that didn't make it a bad movie. In some ways it even made it more of a legitimate film.

First Trailer for THE HANGOVER PART III

It is hard to argue with those who didn't like The Hangover Part II. It was clearly a carbon copy of the first film with a change in location, but it is hard to deny that the film was funny. And the reason it maintained that same level of humor and endearment with the audience is due to the characters. For me, personally it makes little difference what these guys are doing or where they are as long as they are doing it together. That looks to be the main focus of this first glimpse of Part III as the format for someone getting married and a bachelor party have been ditched and the boys are on some kind of quest for something that has the film looking very action-filled. There isn't as much comedy here as I hoped to see, but it is only a teaser and it is likely they have to save some of the best bits for the audience admitted to an R-rated film; here's hoping! It has likely become the hip thing to hate on this series because "everyone" disliked the second film, but it was fun if not innovative like the first. Think about that first one though, it was an instant classic in the realm of comedy and I trust Todd Phillips well enough to know he understands what people disliked about the second film and has fixed it with the third while still maintaining everything that made the first one such a huge success. The core cast is all back with Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Justin Bartha (though we don't see Doug once in the trailer) as well as returning members Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Jamie Chung, Mike Epps, Mike Tyson, Jeffrey Tambor and some fresh blood in Melissa McCarthy and John Goodman. The Hangover Part III opens May 24th. Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

IDENTITY THIEF Review

It is a tough world for comedies in this critical world. Whereas it seems to be much harder to pull off genuine laughs than it does a satisfying drama it also makes it that much more obvious when people aren't laughing when the complete intention is in fact that. As you've likely heard concerning the latest Jason Bateman vehicle that also features the first headlining act for Bridesmaids breakout star Melissa McCarthy, Identity Thief does a poor job of eliciting as many laughs from its audience as it has the capability to do. Here's the strange thing: I didn't hate it. Call me delusional, but I laughed a few times and had a rather average movie-going experience that dragged a bit, but wasn't unbearable. Both of these lead actors are more than charming, more than able to spin a joke, and are clearly dedicated to the material and making it work. Bateman has a knack for playing the everyman and an ear for how to deliver certain lines with lovely comedic timing. McCarthy is the opposite kind of comedian; she is loud and physical. Her character here is a perfect vehicle for her to exercise her strengths as a leading funny lady and if it weren't for her the film would have no purpose. Good news for us, McCarthy is present in almost every scene of Identity Thief and despite the strong premise (that likely has much more to offer in the way of comedy) the film quickly dissolves into a standard road trip comedy I ultimately didn't mind going along with because I love the people involved. That is my excuse with most comedies that critics tend to bash (The Watch, The Hangover Part II) and yes, I recognize their shortcomings, but I can't say I despised the film or those films for their attempts. I can appreciate Identity Thief for trying and I liked it well enough not to be angry I spent two hours with the characters.

THIS IS 40 Review

Maybe it's because I too have a relationship with Lost, that I still hold onto my love for The Office or that I also enjoy the music of Hairspray that allowed me to appreciate This Is 40 all the more, but either way I look at it I can't shake the overall impact the film left me with. It is easy to complain about Judd Apatow movies; whether it be that they are too long, that they try to do too much or are unable to balance themselves between the drama and the comedy. For me, these complaints are not necessarily invalid but they do prove to be somewhat easy to make. They do not take into consideration the skill at hand, the ability with which Apatow more as a writer than a director has likely so painfully made it feel so effortless to capture the real essence of life, the standard complications, the humor in everything. The genuine humor, not the forced false broad jokes that can so easily be relayed in awkward home movies, but the honest and often hilarious conversations we have everyday with one another that are so easily forgotten but just as easily recognizable when someone such as Apatow is able to tap into the truthfulness of life and bring it to a mass audience. I still like The 40 Year Old Virgin more than Knocked Up, but with his last two efforts the writer/director has certainly become more introverted, attempting something few comedians have the balls to do once they find real success. Those two early works afforded him the opportunity to do such a thing and he is not missing his chance. Like Funny People, This Is 40 touches on the bigger questions of what we decide to do in this life and why it matters and why it might not. Unlike that more serious film though Apatow lets his characters create their own story and resolve their own issues without forcing a narrative, a task upon them. A daring move, but one that pays off for the most part.